The Clare based Deputy Vice President of the Irish Road Haulage Association is warning further fuel protests ‘aren’t too far away’.
It comes as the Government faces calls to extend fuel supports which are due to be phased out from the end of this month.
Cuts to excise duty and the NORA levy are due to be phased out from September 1st, which will see petrol rise by nine cent a litre and diesel by 10.
Once the levies are fully reinstated, it would mean a 32-cent increase to a litre of diesel and a 27-cent increase for petrol by January.
Since the beginning of last month, prices at the pumps have already seen large increases, with diesel 19 cent a litre higher, while consumers are paying nine cent a litre more for petrol
Sixmilebridge Fuel Merchant, PJ Ryan, says the situation will worsen when people begin purchasing home heating oil for the winter months.
The Irish Road Haulage Association says prices have now risen to the same threshold that triggered nationwide fuel protests in April.
Its Deputy Vice President is warning an increase of another couple of cent per litre could set the wheels in motion for protesters to take to the roads again.
Ennis haulier Eugene Drennan says it would be foolish for Government to let prices keep climbing above their current level.
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Meanwhile, the US military has fired on a Panamanian-flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman, after accusing it of trying to evade the American blockade on Iranian ports.
Four crew members were killed when Yemeni rebels attacked a vessel at the entrance to the Red Sea.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed unless Washington accepts its conditions.
Oil prices have risen again today, with Brent crude spiking to almost 90 dollars a barrel, an 11-dollar increase in the space of a week.
Former British Diplomat who worked in the Middle East, Alexander Dragonetti, says it’s unlikely there will be a peace deal before the US elections in November.
